PARIS — François Hollande won the French presidential election in 2012 after promising voters he would be a “normal” head of state. His definition of “normal” seems to includespending almost €10,000 a month on haircuts.

The news published Wednesday by Le Canard Enchaîné that Hollande has employed his own personal barber at a salary on a par with that of a cabinet minister is bound to shatter in the eyes of voters the last remaining piece of self-imagery the French leader had created for himself: that of an unassuming president never known for the flashiness of his lifestyle — save of course for the 2014 episode of his affair with a French actress that prompted a vengeful book by his long-time companion.

“For a normal president, [Hollande] doesn’t have a normal hairdresser” — Sébastien Huygue, member of parliament

Hollande’s modest, no-nonsense image was supposed to be the opposite of the “bling-bling” era of his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, he of the expensive watches, three-star restaurant lunches, celebrity-style personal life and jet-setting actor-singer wife. The Socialist took office promising a frugal state. Among his first decisions was to force a 30 percent pay cut on government ministers and himself.

But not everyone got the same cut. On May 16, 2012, the day after Hollande’s inauguration, his appointed chief of staff hired a Parisian hairdresser to work full-time on the president’s hair. The salary: €9,895 a month.

A cabinet minister is paid €9,940 per month. A men’s haircut at a high-end Parisian coiffeur costs between €35 and €45. So getting one every day (weekends included) would set back the French taxpayer €1,350 at most.

Ministering to the presidential hair is apparently worth so much more because presidential barber Olivier B. (his full name hasn’t been published by Le Canard Enchaîné) had to shut down his own salon to go full-time into public service. His days start early, because Hollande’s hair needs combing at least every morning. Olivier B. is also needed before every public appearance, and always travels with Hollande when the French president has to spend the night far from the Elysée palace. Finally, Olivier B. has no deputy, meaning holidays are few and far between. No 35-hour work week there.

By midday Wednesday, France’s main political leaders and presidential contenders had not yet jumped on the opportunity to use Hairgate as a political weapon against Hollande — though everyone was waiting for the unavoidable snarky comments by Sarkozy.

“A French president cannot go around with his hair all messed up like a government spokesman” — Stephane Le Foll, government spokesman

As Hollande’s popularity has sunk to historic lows for a French president, with an unemployment rate stuck above 10 percent, the story of his luxury full-time barber will only add to his political woes. The potential fallout from Hairgate, said an aide to Alain Juppé, one of several conservative candidates for next year’s presidential election, is that “everyone would come to see [Hollande’s] incredible hypocrisy on these lifestyle issues, and we’re talking about the last thing he still had for him. In a way, you don’t need to pile it on.”

Other politicians still felt the need. “For a normal president, [Hollande] doesn’t have a normal hairdresser,” said Sébastien Huygue, a member of parliament who serves as spokesman for main conservative party Les Républicains. “This is the delirium of someone who has lost contact with reality in times when we ask the French to make efforts.”

Malaise was also perceptible among Hollande’s Socialist allies. René Dosière, an MP who has carved out a specialty in throwing light on the pay and living expenses of governments and presidents, said it was “shocking” and would “obscure the real efforts” Hollande made to bring some discipline to the presidency’s budget: From a yearly €110 million under Sarkozy, it has been shrunk to about €103 million or less in the last three years.

Stephane Le Foll, the French agriculture minister who also serves as government spokesman, Wednesday confirmed the existence of the contract and the amount of the hairdresser’s salary, while trying to make fun of the matter. “A French president cannot go around with his hair all messed up like a government spokesman,” he said after the weekly cabinet meeting.

A spokesperson for Hollande didn’t return calls seeking comment.

On top of an apparently strenuous workload, there may have been other reasons to compensate Oliver B. so richly: He is sworn to “the most absolute secrecy on the work he will do or the information he may fall upon,” according to the terms of his contract, published by the Canard.

Speculation was rife on Wednesday as to whether the state secrets involved coloring the president’s hair, which has been seen to take on some uncharacteristic hues of late.

European politicians tend to take their hair color seriously. In 2002 former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sued a news agency for alleging he’d played with the dye bottle. Schröder won, after citing his own hair stylist as a witness.

In this case, it’s the barber who did it. Olivier B. himself sued a French celebrity magazine who had mentioned his employment terms, and brought the contract to court to explain himself. “He is at the president’s disposal 24 hours a day, and never lets a replacement do the job. He’s missed his children’s birth, their broken arms, their surgeries,” his lawyer explained, according to the Canard.

What seems clear is that Olivier’s presidential term will soon be over. His is a temporary contract, set to expire on Hollande’s last day in office.

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lbt

We only need ‘bunga bunga’ parties for our French Berlusconi…

Posted on 7/13/16 | 4:23 PM CET

pexi

Flamby gone…hairdresser gone…but with parasites like Schulz gone … European Parliament will remain paying huge salaries of 12.000 to 20.000 euro/month forever (even after pension or even to her widow) for incompetents as winckler, Kaiser or machmer or Welle f..c.ing princess Lollipop…. that’s German democracy…

Posted on 7/13/16 | 4:41 PM CET

Fülöp Görög

The eurocrats live in their high castles while the normal people struggle. I wonder how much the coiffeurs of Juncker, Schultz, and Tusk make? The EU leaders are out of touch with the people. No wonder why no one likes them.

Posted on 7/13/16 | 4:56 PM CET

lbt

to Fülöp Görög…. The article is about the hairdresser of Hollande, the Frech President, not about eurocrats. In which high castle are you living in?